Undead
The undead are a unique race that inhabit the planet. They are former living creatures, mainly humans, that were used as part of a war against the living by the Supreme King. They are reanimated by their connection to The Source, providing them with necessary bodily functions and, in some cases, abilities through the use of magic. After the Supreme King's demise, they were lead by the Archyte Council while possessing free will. Following a second attempt by the Supreme King to destroy mankind, Jordan Black altered all undead to prevent them from being taken control of again. Characteristics An undead is a living creature that was dead and has been reanimated through the use of magic. Upon a body having being reanimated, it ceases all decomposition and effectively keeps the body in the state at which the reanimation took effect. Where an undead is more powerful their bodies may actually recover from any wounds or decomposition that affect them, however this is subject to the magic available to the undead in question. In most cases, any injuries or rot that had impacted the body prior to becoming undead will remain as such. It is possible for magically adept undead to heal and recover their lesser kin by channeling enough magic into their bodies to encourage the regeneration process. The speed of which an undead may recover from depends on the strength of the undead and if they are able to redirect their magic to assist in healing, a skill that most do not have. Although magic sustains their continued existence in the world, it is not without limits. The more damaged a body is, the more magic is required to reanimate it. Furthermore, if a body is heavily damaged then the magic contained will disperse and the body will be lifeless and unable to function. Even powerful undead members will become physically weaker the more damage they receive. This is quite subjective and will depend on magical capabilities. For instance, Alistair Salders was able to pose a challenge in a fight despite multiple gun shots to his chest while Ryan Walters struggled to walk after being impaled by a scimitar. With all undead, their bodies no longer function like their living counterparts. The Supreme King designed them to be soldiers that would not experience tolls on their bodies that the living would experience. As such, certain organs and bodily functions either do not work to the full extent as before or not at all. They cannot eat or sleep while their tear ducts, smell, taste and touch senses have diminished. They do not need to breathe but often still do from either habit while still alive or to ensure they can speak. While their bodies do not physically tire, their minds still operate in the same manner as while they were alive and are able to rest when needed. Despite being animated through magical means, their bodies are no less susceptible to harm than normal. The exception to this are the Guardians who are able to use their magic to reinforce their bodies for short periods of time. Using such a skill enables them to take less damage than normal when being hit. It has very little effect against projectile weapons with enough force, such as guns, or strong enough items. During the War of the Dead and the Second War the Supreme King held the vast majority of his subjects in a mindless thrall. This prevented these undead from having free will. While completely obedient, they lacked they intelligence they would normally possess as their minds were completely overridden. They were only capable of following orders which had to be given by the Supreme King or others under his command. Where an undead had not been given any orders they would remain relatively motionless and didn't often react to stimuli around them such as noises. When a dominant undead with lesser undead under its command was destroyed it would result in the lesser undead continuing to follow their previous orders until another dominant undead took command of them again. When not under control of the Supreme King they experienced the same intellect that they originally had. The process of reanimating a body differs to the power and experience of the user. Those who do not have great magical capabilities and/or are not skilled in necromancy would often only be able to animate one body at a time by touching them. Alternatively, those who are far more proficient and powerful can raise a multitude of undead simultaneously, the maximum proximity recorded by Abena Quansah being just over 1 kilometre. Organisation Prior to the Supreme King's defeat, he led the undead and held absolute control over them from his base of operations. He had the Archytes, powerful undead who wielded great magical abilities, answer only to him. From the Archytes, he picked two among them, Alistair Salders and Jordan Black, who would have limited authority over the rest of the Archytes and to hold greater sway over the rest of the undead. The Reapers and Guardians were also subservient to the Archytes and the Supreme King. The Reapers were used as a means of sabotaging enemies in secrecy and using stealth while the Guardians often commanded the undead legions in battle and led the charge against enemy lines or to guard Archytes and the Supreme King. Other important undead were the necromancers who were tasked with primarily raising the fallen as undead to bolster their ranks and to explore areas that would be ripe for the taking. Most undead would report to the Archytes, with limited exceptions. Three times a month, the Archytes and Supreme King would convene a meeting between all of them to discuss any important matters. Except for these meetings, the Archytes often gave reports to Alistair or Jordan who would then relay this information to the Supreme King directly. Leadership Supreme King * Richard Thompson (destroyed) * Jordan Black (destroyed) Archytes * Alistair Salders * Regina Davis * Sonja Emmerson * Omar Fayad * Erica McMillan * Yusuke Fukumoto * Vanessa Schultz * Jonas Schultz * John Spencer * Ziva Laski * Abena Quansah * Arya Velayatia * Roderigo Iadanza * Listratov Filippovich * Antonio Pilato (Destroyed) * Ewan Rogers (Destroyed) * Patricia Green (Destroyed) * Peter Isaacs Destroyed) * Emily Poole Reapers * Lucy Farris * Chris Leven * Pierce Moye * Kaitlin Tilbury Guardians * * * Necromancers * Ryan Walters * Avigdor Lotner * Walkers * Helen Walters * * Powers and Abilities Through the magic that animates them, the undead have some unique characteristics compared to their living counterparts. Their power is dependent upon the capacity of their magical potential and empowerment to becoming a different type of undead. Undead can also become stronger through accessing The Source, however this has only been done once by Jordan Black. As magic is a largely unknown phenomenon, it is possible there are other methods. Low-Level Powers These abilities are possessed by all undead. *Immortality - As they are already dead, the undead are immune to sickness and ageing which allows them to potentially live indefinitely should their bodies remain intact. *Super Endurance - As the bodies of all undead are technically deceased, the body's nerves have a limited amount of sensitivity which allows the undead to receive wounds which have a lesser impact on them compared to their human counterparts. Higher ranking undead are able to increase their sensitivity at will. *Super Stamina - Being dead, the undead do not have the need for food as their bodies cannot process it as the relevant organs no longer function. They do not tire, nor do they require oxygen or sleep. They are purely sustained on magic. More powerful and advanced undead are able to activate organs that are typically no longer required, such as their stomach, to process foods if they wish. * Magic - As beings created by magic, the undead are able to utilise the magic within them. The effects vary significantly. Lower level undead are typically incapable of this but some of shown that they can create minor blasts, whether intentionally or not, usually an indicator of their magical potential. More powerful undead have demonstrated they can generate blasts or beams of magical energy. *Regeneration - Due to the magic in their bodies, undead are able to recover from certain wounds inflicted upon them. Weaker undead will heal slower then their stronger counterparts. Furthermore, more powerful undead can recover from more severe wounds, such as loss of limbs or head trauma while lower level undead cannot. Mid-Level Powers Used by some, but not all, higher ranking undead. *Super Strength - Undead have a level of strength somewhat superior to that of an adult human. The exact level of strength is unique to each undead. Most undead will have strength equivalent to the size of their body, but may decrease based on the state of decomposition from when they were raised. The strength of an undead may increase based on the amount of magic they possess. Guardians are typically known for having greater physical strength than other undead members. *Telekinesis - Undead can move or suspend objects and other beings with their minds. Higher ranking undead are able to use it with extreme precision and to greater effect, even able to create barriers and manipulate a large number of objects and other beings simultaneously. *Necromancy - Undead are proficient in the reanimation of dead bodies to increase their numbers while also controlling lower level undead. Higher ranking undead are capable to raising new undead en masse, control large numbers of the undead legions and both free and imprison minds. *Concealment - Reapers are capable of wreathing themselves in a shadow that makes them difficult to see. *Elemental Manipulation - Undead can generate fire, wind and are able to generate heat and coldness. Higher ranking undead are able to also massively affect the area around them with different degrees of temperature such as freezing water. They are also capable of producing electrical currents and using the earth. Alistair has demonstrated the ability to create a blizzard albeit after much preparation. High-Level Powers Only the Archytes and the Supreme King have demonstrated the use of these abilities. They typically possess most of the previous abilities but at much more advanced levels, making them incredibly powerful and dangerous. Alistair and Jordan are arguably the most adept, capable of overwhelming other Archytes. *Empowering - All Archytes and the Supreme King have demonstrated the ability of empowering other undead to make them stronger, bringing forth more of their magical potential. The Supreme King did this to all of the Archytes in order to create them. *Minor Healing - Some Archytes are able to use both their own and their subjects' magic to heal other undead. This can be done to either speed up their natural healing or to regenerate wounds that they would not be capable of healing from on their own. *Soul Container - Archytes are able to create an anchor out of an object for which their soul becomes linked to, enabling them to remain bound to the earth even if their bodies are destroyed beyond repair. Once this occurs, they will be able to reconstruct their body over an unspecified period of time. While all other Archytes are only capable of creating one, Alistair managed to create a second in secret. The Darklight Blade unintentionally become a Soul Container for the Supreme King when Travis Walters struck him down with it. *Teleporting - The Archytes and Supreme King have all demonstrated to be able to disappear and reappear at different locations with little difficulty. *Apporting - Some Archytes and the Supreme King are able to transport objects from one location to another, however all of them have shown it is difficult to accomplish and requires concentration. Weaknesses While the undead possess exclusive formidable and unique abilities, they are hardly indestructible. * Destruction - Should the body of an undead be damaged severely or utterly, the magic that reanimates the body dissipates. While some injuries will be unable to destroy an undead, targeting important areas of the body (i.e. chest and head) will significantly weaken them as the magic will start to disappear without it being held within a stable body. Fire and decomposition will also weaken undead, allowing the magic to leave their bodies. Guardians are far more resilient than standard undead, allowing them to survive injuries that would normally destroy other undead. There are minor exceptions such as the Archytes and the Reapers as they can persist without a body. * Mindlessness - As with all undead, they shared a link to the Supreme King. While some undead were privileged to maintain their minds, the vast majority were completely bound and did not have the abilities of thought and reason. The individuals that used to exist were trapped within their own minds 'sleeping' as they went about serving. This no longer applies since the death of the Supreme King. * The Darklight Blade - Able to destroy most beings, including undead. It cannot harm Archytes who helped empower it and it is possible that Reapers would be able to endure an attack with only their physical bodies being destroyed. * Loss of Magic - As creatures of magic, it is crucial to their survival. If magic were to disappear from the world, then they would no longer have a source to draw upon. Over time, the magic that animates them will dissipate causing them to weaken. Eventually they will cease being animate and their souls will leave their body. Following the death of the Supreme King, the undead were kept active for a while but their bodies eventually started to fail. This was negated when Alistair Salders and Travis Walter managed to restore magic.